MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team completed a perfect trip through the Upper Peninsula with a 3-1 victory over Northern Michigan Saturday afternoon at Vandament Arena.
The Cardinals (9-3, 3-1 GLIAC) dropped the opening set 25-18 before responding with three consecutive wins, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-20. The victory marked SVSU's first win at Northern Michigan since 2019 and completed a 2-0 weekend after Friday's four-set victory at Lake Superior State.
Northern Michigan controlled the opening set, building a 22-14 advantage before SVSU put together a late push. Finley Helm (Mount Pleasant, Mich., Mount Pleasant HS) and Rachel Townsend (Oxford, Mich., Oxford HS) recorded kills during a three-point Cardinal run that cut the deficit to 22-17, but the Wildcats closed out the set 25-18.
The second set featured eight ties before Saginaw Valley began to take control. With the score tied 17-17, Helm started a four-point run with a kill before Ava Decker (Elkhart, Ind., Elkhart HS) added a kill and combined with Makayla Bruman (Attica, Mich., Imlay City HS) for a block to give SVSU a 20-17 advantage. Northern Michigan pulled within 20-19, but the Cardinals scored five of the final six points, with Townsend providing three kills down the stretch to even the match with a 25-20 win.
SVSU carried the momentum into a tightly contested third set that featured 10 ties. Northern Michigan rallied from a 19-14 deficit to tie the set at 19, but Townsend stopped the run with a kill. With the Cardinals leading 21-20, Decker recorded a block before Kendall White (DeWitt, Mich., St. John's HS) followed with an ace. Jackie Scheiber (Wyandotte, Mich., Riverview Community HS) later delivered a kill before another Decker block finished the 25-21 victory.
The Cardinals created separation midway through the fourth. Leading 11-10, SVSU scored three straight points behind a Helm kill and a Northern Michigan attack error to make it 14-10. The Wildcats later cut the advantage to 19-17 before Decker and Scheiber helped fuel a three-point run that pushed the lead to 22-17.
Townsend and Bruman followed with a kill and an ace, respectively, before Marissa Roe (Chesterton, Ind., Chesterton HS) ended the match with a kill for the 25-20 victory.
Townsend led the Cardinals with 14 kills, while Helm finished with 11 kills on 19 attempts for a .526 hitting percentage and added 15 digs for her second career double-double and first of the season. Decker recorded nine kills while hitting .389 and totaled six blocks. Scheiber added nine kills and 15 digs, while White finished with 13 digs.
Bruman came off the bench in the second set and finished with 28 assists, four blocks and four digs. Taylor Smith (Pewamo, Mich., Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools) added 12 assists.
Saginaw Valley hit .192 for the match while holding Northern Michigan to .142. The Cardinals recorded 11 blocks and forced 28 Wildcat attack errors. SVSU improved throughout the match offensively, hitting .250 in the second set, .231 in the third and .323 in the fourth after hitting -.028 in the opening frame.
Up Next: Volleyball comes back home for two matches this upcoming weekend. The Cardinals welcome Roosevelt on Friday, September 25 for Kids Day. Then, SVSU hosts Parkside on Saturday, September 26 for Mental Health Awareness Day. Those matches are set for 6 PM and 2 PM at the Hamilton Gymnasium.
